Refrigerating apparatus



D. H. REEVES REFRIGERATING APPARATUS lfiled July 24. 1937 Feb. 13, 1940.

2 Sheets-heet 1 INVENIOR. Dan/44a Zen 4;.

HIS ATTORNEYS Feb. 13, 1940. D. H. REEVES I REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed'July 24, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 uV A IIIIIIII INVENTOR. Dan/41'0" Fccves.

M n! a,

ma ATTORNEYS,

Patented Feb. 13, .1940

PATENT j OFFICE 2,190,610 nnrmeaaarmo APPARATUS Donald H. Reeves, Dayton, Ohio, asslgnor to Gen oral Motors Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application July 24,1931, Serial N... 155.503

3 Claims. (cite-168.5)

This invention relates to refrigeration and particularly to ice trays for use in domestic refrigerators. v 1

, An object of my invention is to provide an improved metallic ice tray unit for refrigerators.

Another object of my invention is to provide an ice tray having a cover thereover with manually operable'means which when actuated will separate the cover from the tray and will also elevate the tray relative to its freezing support.

Another object of my invention is to provide a single means movable in one direction of motion for moving a cover from an ice tray and for lifting the tray from its supportpon a cooling element to thereby facilitate harvesting of ice blocks from the. tray unit.

A further and more specific object of my invention is to provide a freezing unit comprising a tray member and a cover member therefor both of whichhave means cooperating to form walls of a plurality of ice molds therein with a handle movably secured to the tray member and manually operable to engage the unit support to separate the unit from its support and to move the as cover together with its ice mold-forming walls relative to the tray for permitting flexing of the tray to release ice blocks therefrom.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following to description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings: Fig. l. is a top plan view of a freezing unit havgg has my invention embodied therein;

Fig. 2 is alongitudinal vertical sectional view of the unit shown in Fig. 1 and is taken on the line 2-? thereof; v

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view or the freezing unit taken on the line 3-3 of. Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the unit in' position on a freezing support and disclosing the unit cover moved by a handle relative to the unit tray and ice therein:

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the unit cover separated from the unit tray and illustrating the tray elevated relative to its support by the handle;

Fig. 6 is an end view of the freezing unit; and

50 Fig. 'l is a side view of the handle end of the unit. a

Referring to the drawings, for illustrating the present invention, I have shown in Fig. 1 thereof a freezing unit generally represented by the ref- 5 erence character It and adapted to be placed in or on a freezing support such as a shelf of a cooling element in a household refrigerating apparatus. The unit It comprises a metal tray member II and a metal cover member l2 therefor. The tray II has a rim I! (see Figs. 2 and 3) 5 formed around its upper edge portion and the metal of the tray' is extended downwardly from the rim H at the front end of tray H as at I 5 for a purpose to be presently described. The bottom wall of tray H is indented lengthwise 10 as at It (see Fig. 3) and crosswise as at ll (see Fig. 2) to form upstanding partitions or walls It within the tray. The upstanding tray walls It form part of a plurality of walls that divide the interior of the tray into a plurality of com,- 15 partments or molds for freezing water into ice cubes or blocks for table use. The cover I! is stamped from sheet metal and has depending ribs it struck therefrom in positions corresponding to the positions of the indentations i6 and I1 1 this flange fits over the rim. It provided on tray H. The flange ti on cover I! has a depending portion 22 formed at the front of the unit (see 25 Figs. 6 and 7) which fits over a part of the depending portion lb of rim it on tray II and straddles the outwardly projecting part of this rim portion it. It will be noted that when cover member 82 is in normal position on tray member it the ribs or walls I9 formed in cover l2 are in vertical alignment with and are spaced a short distance from the ribs or walls it formed in tray it. The spacing of ribs l9 from ribs I 8 provides open communication between all the molds formed thereby within the unit it. This permits water placed in the plurality of molds of unit It to attain a commonlevel within the tray H. The indented walls l8 and rim It of tray it adds rigidity to the metal tray but does not render it too. rigid tobe manually flexed in the manner and' for a purpose to be hereinafter described. Likewise walls !9 and flange 2| formed in cover l2 adds rigidity to this closure or cover member. v e

It is desired to provide a handle for the freezing unit In to facilitate handling thereof. Therefore I securea heavy metal piece 25, by screws 25, to the portion 15 extending downwardly and outwardly from rim H at the front end of tray 50 ll. Metal piece 25 has outwardly extending and preferably short rounded leg or end portions 21. Each end portion 21 on metal piece 25 flts into a hole provided in each leg 28 of a handle 29 and serve to pivotally mount the handle to the tray unit l0. Each leg 28 of handle member 29 is also provided with a camming surface 32 located on the opposite side of pivotal mounting 21 from the bent-out bearing surface portion 3| thereof. The purpose of the cam surface 32 will be hereinafter explained. When the cover i2 is normally resting upon tray H the bottom edge of 7 bond between the ice in tray- I2; and to also break the bond between the tray flanged portion 22 engages the bent-put bear g surface portion 3i of handle member '29 to r tain the handle in the position shown in Figs. 1, 2, 6 and 7 of the drawings.

In order to freeze water in the freezing unit ill the tray I l is partially filled with water and'the cover I2 is placed upon the tray to close same.

The ribs i9 formed on cover [2 cooperate with the ribs l8 formed on tray II to provide a plurality of molds within the tray. The spacing of ribs l9 vertically from ribs l8 together with a relatively loose fit of cover l2 upon tray ll permits the body of water within the plurality of molds to attain a common level within the tray. The unit It] is then placed upon a, freezing support of an evaporator or cooling element of arefrigerating system for causing the contents of the unit to be frozen. In order to harvest ice blocks with its integral ribs or walls I9 is raised out of its normal position relative to tray l I. As before stated the tray II is not entirely filled with water and for this reason the top of the ice is spaced from the under side of the flat top portion of cover l2 and bonds only to the lower portions of ribs l9. Since the ice bonds to the ribs l 8 of tray I l and also to the bottom wall thereof, there is a greater bondage of ice to the tray than to the cover inherent inthe unit disclosed. Therefore, it is obvious that force imparted between tray II and its cover I2 such as by movement of handle 29 as described and as illustrated in Fig. 4 moves the cover relative to the tray. Further downward movement of handle 29 causes the cam surfaces 32 formed thereon to engage the support for unit land to elevate the tray I I relative to'this support. Thus the cover I2 is elevated relative to tray l I and the tray is then elevated relative to its support to thereby break the and the cover andits freezing support. Unit in is then removed from its support and the cover I2 elevatedaway from the tray H. Thereafter the ends of .tray I I are grasped and the tray is'twisted to cause 'flexing thereof which flexing breaks the plurality of ice blocks apart at the apex of walls "and also breaks the'blocks loose from thewalls l8 of tray H to .permit same-to be harvested by the fingers of the operator or by ice tongs. The manually actuated handle 29 is designed tube operated with a minimum of force and it will be seen that this handle performs a doublefunctionfito thereby eliminate the diiflculty ordinarily en untered in illustrated.

A unit of the type illustrated and comprising a cover for the tray is preferred by' some users of mechanically refrigerated refrigerator cabinets for'several reasons. The provision of a cover for the tray is preferred partly because it shields the contents of the tray and prevents somewhat contaminated water from entering. the tray'during defrosting of the cooling element of the refrigerating system. Thus the necessity of removing the trays during the act of defrosting the cooling ele-' ment is eliminated and this is a feature particuharvesting ice from a freezing unit of the type larly desirable in present-day refrigerators wherein defrosting of the cooling element is caused to occur automatically at certain intervals of time.

The cover also prevents circulation of relatively warm air in contact with the contents ofthe tray to thereby cause faster freezing thereof.

In view of the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided an improved freezing unit which is strong and durable, of simple inexpensive conbinations. By utilizingthe tray handle to both break an ice bond between the tray and its s upport and to separate the cover and its integral grid-forming portions from the trayand ice therein I have provided an improved device which greatly facilitates harvestingof ice blocks therefrom. a

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is. claimed is as follows:

1. A freezing unit adapted to be placed in or on a freezing support of a cooling element of a refrigerating system comprising in combination, a tray, a cover for saidtray, a handle having a leg pivotally mounted upon the tray on an axis transverse thereof to permit movement of the handle outwardly and downwardly of said tray, said cover having a portion thereof extending over the rim ofsaid tray in the vicinity of said handle leg, and the leg of saidhandle having a cam portion formed integral therewith on one side of its pivotal mounting and another cam portion formed integral therewith on the opposite side of its pivotal mounting, one of said cam p'ortions being constructed and arranged to engage cam portions being constructed and arranged to engage. said extending portion of said cover whereby the handle upon movement thereof serves to provide a single lever for breaking an ice bond between the tray and its freezing support and for moving said cover upwardly relative to said tray.

2. A freezing unit adapted to beplaced in or on a freezing support of a coo1ing element of a refrigerating system comprising in combination,

eans cooperating with the tray and having portions thereof dividing the interior of said tray into a plurality of molds, a handle having a leg pivotally mounted transverse thereof to handle outwardly and downwardly of'said tray,

ay in the vicinity of said handle g of said handle having a cam porntegral therewith on one side of its pivotal mounting and another cam portion n the tray on an axis rmit movement of theformed integral therewith on the opposite side of its pivotal mounting, one of said cam portions being constructed and arranged to engage the support of said tray and the other of said cam portions being constructed and arranged to engage said extendingportion of said means whereby the handle upon movement thereof serves to provide a single lever for breaking an ice bond between the tray and its freezing support and for moving said means upwardly relative to said permit movement-of the handle outwardly and downwardly of said tray, said cover having a portion extending over the rim of said tray-in the vicinity of said handle leg, and the leg of said handle having a cam portion formed, integral therewith on one side of its pivotal mounting and another cam portion formed integral therewith on the opposite side of its pivotal mounting. one of said cam portions being constructed and arranged to engage the support of said tray and the other of said cam portions being constructed and arranged to engage said extending portion of said cover whereby the handle upon movement thereof serves to provide a single lever to breaking an ice bond between the tray and its reezing support and for moving said cover upwardly relative to said tray.

. DONALD H. 

